"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger went to the heart of the Central Valley on Wednesday
to fight for his budget priorities, holding a rally with local officials on the home
turf of Republican legislative leaders he aims to persuade
not to block his impending veto of the proposed state
budget," writes Matthew Yi in the Chron.
"Speaking in Fresno, the governor said the budget approved
by the Legislature early Tuesday, which would force
taxpayers to make early tax payments to help erase
a $17 billion deficit, is as problematic as one enacted
in 2003 that relied heavily on borrowing to fill a large deficit.
"That was the year voters recalled then-Gov. Gray Davis during another state fiscal crisis
and elected Schwarzenegger to replace him.
"'Here we are again, and they send me a budget that does
exactly the same thing: borrow from the future, kick the problem down to next
year, and with no serious budget reform,' Schwarzenegger said. The governor, who planned to
meet with the editorial board of the Fresno Bee newspaper,
quoted excerpts from other newspaper editorials across
the state that criticized the lawmakers' budget."
"State lawmakers' will to override a budget veto began to falter Wednesday, emboldening Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to press them
for more concessions," report Evan Halper and Jordan Rau in the Times.
"Tough talk from lawmakers about quickly overriding
Schwarzenegger's expected veto subsided as Republicans expressed reluctance
to vote for borrowing from taxpayers -- a provision of the budget Democrats passed without
them."
The tax acceleration has emerged as the major issue
after Democrats reportedly agreed to the governor's "lockbox" requirement on the budgetary reserve.
"The borrowing, in the form of a 10% increase in state tax withholding to be refunded later
without interest, would require Republican votes to
take effect if the governor vetoes the budget. The
extra withholding would generate cash by accelerating
the collection of taxes that normally would not be
paid until the next fiscal year.
"'It is not clear whether members of our caucus would
vote for that,' said Assembly Budget Committee Vice Chairman Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks)."
That is, vote for it again, now that it has seen sunshine. (While Republicans voted no on AB3X 36, they knowingly voted for the budget bill that relied
on the income and corporation taxes to balance.)
"Legislative leaders shifted their efforts Wednesday
from gearing up for an override to avoiding one altogether.
Several Capitol sources involved in the confidential
negotiations said lawmakers told the governor they
would change the part of the budget that prompted his
veto threat: restrictions on the state's rainy day fund. The governor had objected that the
fund was too easy to raid."
Capitol Weekly explains why the override vote may be tough.
"For Republicans, there is a real incentive to avoid
a veto and an override vote.
"When the budget was passed, the so-called "revenue accelerators" - the
speeded-up tax and withholding collections that comprise the
$5 billion in new revenues that string the budget together
-- were approved on a majority-vote bill. In the Senate, that bill, AB
36xxx (the triple Xs officially denote the Legislature's third special
session), passed without any Republican votes at all. The bill
received just 21 votes in the Senate, and 43 in the Assembly.
But if the Senate is to override a veto of that measure,
it would take a two-thirds vote, and that means Republicans would have
to put up votes supporting what amounts to a $5 billion tax increase.
That vote could prove difficult: Many Republicans earlier signed
pledges that they
would not approve new taxes."
"
Schwarzenegger earlier blasted the budget, saying it
"kicks that can down the alley," suggesting that the
so-called revenue accelerators worsened the state's budget problems and pushed the shortages into next
year in order to correct current problems.
He also said the rainy day fund that was set up in
the plan, which is envisioned as a way of providing
funds in hard economic times, was "fake budget reform."
But legislative sources from both parties point out
that the revenue accelerators approved as part of the
budget were first introduced by the governor's own Department of Finance, which writes the state's budgets.
"The one thing that he's objecting to came from the governor's office," Ricker said.
In his Sept. 15 letter to legislative leaders, Schwarzenegger said
he "would be unable to sign a budget without meaningful
budget reform."
But in Tuesday's press conference announcing his intention to veto
the spending plan, he went much further, criticizing
accounting gimmicks in the budget - including those devised by his staff.
"I will not sign a 'get out of town budget' that punishes taxpayers, pushes the problem into the
next year and includes fake budget reform," Schwarzenegger said.
Confused? So are we.
The Bee's Jim Sanders has the quotes showing a standing down of the game of chicken.
"Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said the governor's goal is passage of a state budget that does not push
fiscal problems into next year and cracks down on future
spending.
"'We'll work with them to do the right thing,' he said of lawmakers.
"Legislative leaders, who met with Schwarzenegger on
Wednesday, were hesitant to speculate on how events
will play out.
"'We cross that bridge when we get there,' said Steve Maviglio, spokesman for Assembly Speaker
Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles."
There sure seem to be a lot of bridges to cross in
this budget fight.
"'Everything is wait and see,' said Alicia Trost, spokeswoman for Senate President
Pro Tem Don Perata."
And remember, the governor only has 12 more days to act on the 850 or so bills on his desk. Capitol Weekly's Malcolm Maclachlan takes a look at a couple of the
big bills that may get lost in this budget shuffle.
George Skelton's patience is running out.
"Stop the madness. There's nothing currently at stake that's worth a mushroom cloud over the Capitol -- and a fallout that kills small businesses and care
centers being stiffed by the state."
"The union representing California prison guards is meeting in the nation's gambling capital for a leadership vote Thursday that now has statewide implications," reports the AP's Don Thompson.
"The election's outcome could determine whether the union presses
ahead with its effort to recall Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"Mike Jimenez, the scruffy, bare-knuckle president of the California Correctional Peace
Officers Association, is facing a challenge to the
leadership post he has held since August 2002.
"About 450 delegates, 10 from each of the state's adult and youth prisons, are voting Thursday for
president of the 30,000-member union."
Andy Furillo reports on one of the candidates trying
to challenge Jiminez.
"The state board of California's correctional officers union blocked an insurgent candidate Wednesday from running
against the labor organization's embattled president.
"R.C. Garcia had organized a group called Officers for Change for
the purpose of challenging Mike Jimenez, the president
of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association.
"The board voted to bar Garcia from the election, which
is scheduled for today at the CCPOA's annual convention, because he works as the litigation
coordinator at Corcoran State Prison.
"His duties require him to act as a liaison between
management and the state attorney general's office.
"Garcia maintained his job is not a "confidential" position and said he plans to appeal the board's decision to the convention floor, ahead of the vote.
"'I'm ashamed to tell you things that the union has done
and what it's become,' Garcia said in an interview."
"A constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage in California has lost support during the past two months and now
trails by a 17-point margin," reports the Bee's Aurelio Rojas.
"Just 38 percent of likely voters back Proposition 8 while 55 percent say they will vote against the Nov. 4 ballot measure, according to a new Field Poll. In July, the measure trailed by nine points.
"Since then, the heading on the ballot summary – which began with the words 'Limit on Marriage' on petitions to gather signatures for the measure
– has been changed on voter pamphlets to read 'Eliminates right of same-sex couples to marry.'"
And finally, "when playing a practical joke, it's not a good idea to douse your shirt
with ketchup, pretend to be shot and have a fleet of
police officers
rush to your aid.
"Brandon Garced, 19, is now facing charges after seven Bethlehem police
officers went racing to a home Saturday after a frantic
911 call that a
man had been shot and the shooter was still inside.
"Officers surrounded the home at 1311 Hilton St. with weapons drawn and
found Garced inside with ketchup on his shirt, yelling
that it was all
a joke, police said."
Kind of like the state budget, right?
